47
Roman Imperatorial
Superb Quality Denarius of Pompey the Great
Fantastic Elephant Denarius of Scipio
3073
Pompey the Great. Silver Denarius (3.9 g), 48 BC.
Military mint
traveling with Pompey in Greece. Terentius Varro, proquaestor.
VARRO PRO Q, diademed bust of Jupiter right.
Reverse:
MAGN
PRO / COS in two lines in exergue, scepter between dolphin swim-
ming right and eagle standing left. Crawford 447/1a; HCRI 8;
Sydenham 1033; RSC 3.
Very rare.
Well struck and well centered,
lightly toned.
Superb Extremely Fine.
Struck prior to the Battle of Pharsalus in which Pompey was de-
feated by Caesar, this coin advertises Pompey’s most consid-
erable past achievements. Jupiter Terminus (or Terminalis), the
divine guardian of boundaries, refers to the grant of proconsu-
lar powers awarded to Pompey by the Senate so that he carry
the fight to Caesar and save the Republic. The images of the
dolphin and eagle represent Pompey’s most famous achieve-
ments by sea and by land: his decisive defeat of the Cilician
pirates in 66 BC, and his conquest over Mithradates VI of Pon-
tus in 65 BC. Additionally, the design of the reverse is divided
by a scepter, which here serves not only as an artistic device
separating the motifs of the dolphin and eagle, but symboliz-
es his delegated authority as it was only carried by victorious
generals who had been acclaimed imperator by their troops.
Estimated Value......................................................... $7,000 - 8,000
Ex Dr. Busso Peuss 401/402 (3 November 2010), 447.
3074
Q. Metellus Pius Scipio. Silver Denarius (4.07 g), 47-46 BC.
Military
mint traveling with Scipio in Africa.
Imperator, committed sucide in
46 BC.
Q METEL above, PIVS below, laureate head of Jupiter right.
Reverse:
SCIPIO above, IMP in exergue, elephant advancing right.
Crawford 459/1; HCRI 45; Sydenham 1050; Caecilia 47.
Rare
. Per-
fectly struck and centered on a full flan with gorgeous iridescent ton-
ing. A remarkable specimen.
Superb Extremely Fine.
A Pompeian loyalist, Q. Metellus Pius Scipio introduced the legislation
that recalled Caesar from his Gallic command, thus precipitating
the Civil Wars. This handsome denarius was struck while Scipio was
in supreme command of the Pompeian forces in North Africa, the
elephant an obvious reference to the province, and was probably
struck during the later stages of the campaign in a mobile mint trav-
eling alongside the forces (stylistically it is quite distinct from the coins
of Scipio struck at the provincial capital of Utica). In 46 BC, Caesar fi-
nally managed to corner the Pompeians at Thapsus, where he inflict-
ed on them a crushing defeated. After the battle Scipio committed
suicide, knowing that despite Caesar’s usual leniency towards his
enemies he would not allow so persistent an foe as Scipio to survive.
Estimated Value ..............................................................$5,000 - 6,000
Ex NAC 62 (6 October 2011), 2001; Spink 5014 (28 September 2005),
386.
